Athletic protective gear, such as hockey goaltender leg pads, provide crucial protection for the leg, ankle and foot by serving as a protective barrier between the goaltender's leg and the outer environment or playing area. Such gear is generally adapted to absorb the impact from a high speed object such as a hockey puck as well as protect the wearer from other potentially dangerous objects such as hockey sticks and skate blades that may come in contact with the goaltender's leg. Since goaltenders use their legs to block shots, significant protection must be provided while still permitting maneuverability.
Traditionally, hockey goaltender pads have been constructed by sewing leather into the form of longitudinal channels and stuffing the channels with deer hair to provide adequate impact resistance. These are typically quite rigid and heavy, and consequently, restrict the goaltender's speed and agility. Foam padding has also been used in the prior art for protective gear. Goaltender pads with foam padding typically have a core which comprises a plurality of pieces that are glued together. The glue contributes significantly to the weight of the pad and in cases where the glue is spread manually during manufacture of the pad, the amount of glue used may not always be consistent from pad to pad. Consequently, this can lead to notable weight variations between pads. Further, foam pads with sufficient shock absorbance are typically as heavy or even heavier than the deer hair pads. Conventional foam pads can also be excessively rigid and hinder the movement of the wearer.
German Patent Application No. 34 33 005 discloses a pad comprising a front part including synthetic material and laminated layers of foam material, and, a back part including a pad material and an outer layer. The foam pad comprises three adjacent longitudinal sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,652 discloses a protective leg gear including a protective leg pad made of foam which is molded in a single step to receive the leg and foot. The protective pad includes an ankle and foot area and a knee area which are contoured to closely approximate the shape of the ankle, foot and knee. A rigid intermediate member including a leg section and a foot section are disposed on the protective leg pad. An outer padding is also received on the rigid intermediate member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,926 discloses a protective pad which includes multiple sections that are hinged together. Each section includes a front portion and a first and second side portions appended to the front portion. The adjacent edges of each adjacent pair of side portions are relieved to provide side relief gaps for enabling flexion of the leg pad during use.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide an improved athletic protective pad which is relatively lightweight, inexpensive and which does not significantly restrict the wearer's speed and agility.